Box-fastener.



E. W. STAMM BOX FASTENER,

APPLICATION man 1AN.22.19|1.

y 1 ,235,075 Patented July 31, 1917.

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ERNEST W. STAlVIlVI, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

BOX-FASTENER.

Application filed January 22, 1917.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ERNEST W. STAMM, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Box-Fasteners, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to box fasteners of the type shown in my prior U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,080,859, dated December 9, 1913, which comprises coperating members arranged on the inside of the box and a Seal that has to be broken before said members can be disengaged to release the lid of the box.

The main object of my present invention is to provide a box fastener of the general type referred to, which is so constructed that the coperating parts of the fastener that are arranged on the lid and on the front Wall of the box will be drawn more tightly into engagement with each other in case the hinges of the lid work loose and permit the lid to move rearwardly away from the front Wall, thereby overcoming an objectionable feature of many of the box fasteners now in general use, which are so constructed that the fastener will not hold or secure the lid when the lid hinges work loose and permit the lid to move rearwardly away from the front wall of the box. l

Another object is to provide a box fastener of the general type referred to that comprises means of novel construction for disengaging the resilient member on the front wall of the box from the part on the lid that coperates with same. Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure l of the drawings is a vertical sectional view of a box or shipping case provided with a fastener constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing how the resilient member of the fastener is disengaged from the part on the lid with which it coperates so as to release the lid.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken approximately on the line 3 3 of Fig. l, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow; and p Fig. 4 is an horizontal sectional view,

" taken on the line 4 4: of Fig. 2, looking in the dreCtOIl lldieated by the arrew.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3i, 1917.

Serial No. 143,702.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A designates the movable lid or cover of a box or shipping case, and B designates the front wall of the box. Coperating members are arranged on the inside of the front wall and on the underside of the lid for locking the lid in its closed position, and an opening 1 is formed in the lid so as to permit said cooperating members to be disengaged to release the lid. A seal C, which preferably consists of a piece of cardboard or other suitable material, is arranged on the inside of the lid over the opening l therein, so as to prevent the lid from being released and raised without first breaking said seal.

My improved fastener comprises a resilient member D arranged on the inner side of the front wall B of the box and provided at its upper end with a hook or extension 2 that projects forwardly, or toward said front wall, and a member E arranged on the underside of the lid A and provided with a wedge-shaped portion 3 that has a hole or notch 4 therein for receiving the hook or extension 2 on the upper end of the resilient member B. The member E is so arranged that when the lid is moved into its closed position the wedge-shaped portion 3 on said member will pass between the front .wall of the box, and the projection 2 on the upper end of the member D and force the free end of the member D rearwardly far enough to permit the hook 2 thereon to snap into the opening 4in the wedge-shaped portion 3,

when the lid reaches its closed position. The Y member Dis formed from a strip of spring metal or material that has some resiliency, and said member is preferably secured to a plate 5 that is detachably connected to the are i'irst rdriven into the front wall B of the l box, and thereafter the plate 5 is secured to said front wall by` nails or other suitable fastening devices 8, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3. Y

In order that the lid of the box may be released easily I have provided the fastener with a manually-operable releasing device F that is adapted to be operated by the finger of the person opening the box, so as to move the resilient member D rearwardly sufiiciently to carry the projection 2 on the upper end thereof out of the hole 4 in the wedge-shaped portion 3 on the member E. Said releasing device F is preferably formed from a piece of wire that is bent to form a iinger portion 9, which is arranged at substantially right angles to two depending legs that bear against the inner side of the resilient member D when the linger portion of the device F is moved upwardly, as shown h in Fig. 2. The device F is pivotally mounted on the plate 5, preferably by means of integral lugs 11 on said plate that are bent into engagement with the device F at the points where the depending legs 10 of said device merge into the finger portion 9, but it will, of course, be understood that the releasing device F could be constructed in various other ways without departing from the spirit of my invention. The intermediate portion of the plate 5, which is narrower than the end portions of said plate, is provided with side flanges 12 that form a guideway or protecting housing for the resilient member D, and if desired, the depending legs 10 of the releasing device F may be provided at their lower ends with laterallyprojectingportions 10a that are guided in slots 13 in the side fianges 12 on the plate 5.

The member E on the lid is preferably stamped from sheet metal, and the wedgeshaped portion 3 on said member is formed by bending the end of said member downwardly and then upwardly, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. The central portion of said member E is depressed, so as to form a pocket 14 for the seal C, which pocket is open at its rear end, asshown in Fig. 4, so that the seal can be slipped into same. On the rear end of the member E are depending flanges 15 that prevent the seal C from being moved rearwardly out of the pocket 14, when the lid of the box is locked, said flanges 15 being so formed that a broken seal can be removed from the pocket 14 and a perfect one inserted in said pocket, when the lid of the box is raised.

To open the box the operator inserts his finger through the opening 1 in the lid so as to break the seal C, and thus permit the nger to engage the releasing device F and move said device upwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to disengage the resilient member D from the member E, and thus permit the lid to be raised. The portion of the hook or projection 2 that is engaged by the wedgeshaped portion 3 on the member E, when the lid is moved into its closed position, is curved slightly or made in the form of a cam, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the wedge 8 will slide over same freely, and while 1 prefer to provide said wedge-shaped portion with a hole 4 through which the hoolr or projection 2 passes, this is not essential, so long as the wedge-shaped portion of the member E is provided with a shoulder that is overlapped by the projection 2 on the resilient member, when the lid of the box is closed.

The chief Vadvantage of a box fastener of the construction above described is that it will securely hold or lock the lid, even after the hinges of the lid worlr loose sufficiently to permit the lid to move rearwardly away from the front wall of the box, this being due to the fact that the fastener comprises a resilient member on the front wall of the box which is provided at its upper end with a hook or forwardly-projecting extension that laps over shoulder' on a part on the lid that lies between said resilient member and the front wall of the box. Such a fastener can be actuated easily to release the lid; it is strong and can be manufactured at a low cost; it can be installed easily and the cooperating parts of same are so designed that it is impossible to disengage said parts without breaking the seal C that covers the hole 1 in the lid.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A box fastener, comprising a resilient member adapted to be arranged on the inside of the front wall of a box, a hook or extension on the upper end of said member that projects forwardly toward said front wall, a member adapted to be arranged on the under side of the lid of the box, a portion on said lid member that lies between said resilient member and the front wall of the box when the lid is closed and coperates with the extension on said resilient member to loclr the lid, and a releasing device pivotally mounted on the front wall of the box for disengaging said resilient member from the portion on said lid member with which it coperates.

2. A box fastener, comprising a plate that is adapted to be arranged on-the inside of the front wall of a box, a resilient member secured to said plate and provided at its upper end with an extension that projects toward saidiplate, a releasing device pivotally mounted on said plate for moving the free end of said resilient member away from said plate, and a member adapted to be arranged on the lid of the box and provided with a portion that lies between said resilient member and plate and in engagement with the extension on said resilient member when the lid of the box is closed.

3. A box fastener, comprising a plate that is adapted to be arranged on the inside 0f the front Wall of a box, a resilient member secured at its lower end to said plate and provided at its upper end with an extension that extends forwardly toward saidV plate, flanges on said plate that form a guide and protecting housing for said resilient member, a releasing device pivotally mounted on said plate for moving the free end of said resilient member away from said plate,'

guiding portions on said releasing device that work in slots on the flanges on said plate, a member adapted to be arranged on the underside of the lid of the box and provided with a pocket for receiving a seal, and a wedge-shaped portion on said lid member provided with an opening for receiving the extensionon the upper end of said resilient member.

t. A box fastener, comprising a plate that is adapted to be arranged on the inside of the front wall of a box, a resilient member having its lower end secured to said plate and provided with prongs that project forwardly through said plate into the front wall of the box on which the plate is mounted, a forwardly-projecting extension on the upper end of said resilient member whose top surface is curved, a pivotally mounted releasing device on said plate having a iinger portion and angularly-disposed legs that engage said resilient member and move the free end of same away from said plate when said finger portion is raised, a coperating member adapted to be arranged on the underside of the lid of the box and provided with a pocket for a seal, a wedge-shaped portion at the front end of said lid member provided at its rear side with an opening for receiving the extension on said resilient member, and means on said lid member for preventing the seal from moving longitudinally out of the pocket in said lid member.

ERNEST W. STAMM..

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

